


STORMS - THE COMPLETE FORECAST

by ksstarfire



Category: Starsky & Hutch
Genre: Angst, M/M, h/c
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-10
Updated: 2016-05-10
Packaged: 2018-06-07 15:34:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6811249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ksstarfire/pseuds/ksstarfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Added a beginning and ending to "STORMS".<br/>Starsky and Hutch each fight to get back to "center".</p>
            </blockquote>





	STORMS - THE COMPLETE FORECAST

It was storming as Starsky and Hutch ran down the alley after the robbers. They splashed through puddles and both winced when the lightning flashed followed quickly by loud thunder. Hutch was slightly ahead of Starsky and slid to a stop as he ran around a shipping crate.

He brought his gun up and aimed at the door opening in the warehouse to his right. A person stepped out from behind the door. He saw a flash of black in the person’s hand and yelled, “Police! Freeze!”

The person continued to raise their hand and the gun in it. Hutch didn’t hesitate but fired and dove behind another crate. He heard Starsky fire a shot and peeked over the top of the crate to see the figure slump to the ground. 

They both heard sirens pulling up to the other end of the alley and officers exchanging fire with someone.

“Starsk?” 

“Yeah, you?”

“Yeah. I’ll cover you.”

Starsky stood and moved toward the figure lying in the doorway. He kept his gun in front of him, until he got close enough to realize the person wasn’t moving and didn’t appear to be breathing. “Oh, man.” He shoved his gun in the holster under his right arm and knelt down. He reached out and touched the throat and found no pulse. 

He could hear Hutch moving up behind him and stood quickly, trying to block his partner’s view. “Hutch…”

Hutch walked around Starsky and stood, stunned. “It’s just a girl. Starsk, she’s just a girl.” Lightning cracked and the thunder boomed as he sank to his knees by the body and reached over to brush the girl’s hair off her face. “She’s just a kid. God, what did I do?”

Just then officers came running up from the other end of the alley. “You guys ok? We got the robbers...” Officer Tipton stopped speaking as he saw the young girl lying in the doorway with Hutch kneeling beside her body. 

“Starsky? What…?” 

“Go call the coroner, Tipton. She came out of the door with a gun in her hand. We both shot at her.” Starsky broke off and watched the officers heading back down the alley to make their calls.

“Hutch? Come on, babe. Let’s wait for the coroner over here.” He indicated the crate Hutch had hidden behind. He started to move over to the crate to sit and realized Hutch hadn’t answered or moved from his position. He stepped up behind his partner and reached down to put his hand on Hutch’s shoulder. “Come on Hutch. Stand up.” 

When Hutch still didn’t move or answer, Starsky took hold of both upper arms and pulled Hutch up. “Hey Hutch? What…” Hutch was staring down at the girl, but his eyes were vacant. Starsky shook him. “Hutch!” There was still no reaction. 

Starsky led an unresisting Hutch over to the crate and sat him down. He reached down and took Hutch’s gun from his hand and tucked it into his belt after making sure the safety was on. 

Hutch was still staring at the girl and Starsky moved to put himself between his partner and the body. Hutch continued to look straight ahead, as if his partner’s body wasn’t even there, as if he could still see the girl’s body. 

“Come on, buddy. Talk to me! Hutch!” He watched but saw no reaction in his partner’s face. He was about to try again when the coroner and Captain Dobey both arrived. The storm was moving off and the rain had stopped but both detectives were soaked.

“Starsky, Hutch, what happened?” 

“We were chasing the perps. The door opened and the girl stepped out, holding a gun. Hutch shot at her. I shot a split second behind him.” 

“Hutchinson, is that what happened?” Captain Dobey seemed to realize something was wrong as he looked at Hutch waiting for an answer. “Hutchinson?”

“What happened, Starsky?”

“I – I – I don’t know, Cap. He shut down when he saw it was a girl. He wasn’t shot or anything. It’s like he – he just shut down.”

“Take him over to Memorial, get him checked out. I’ll need both of your guns.” Starsky handed over his and Hutch’s gun and bent to get Hutch to stand up. “And Dave, keep me informed.”

Starsky nodded at Dobey and started walking back toward the Torino. He held onto Hutch’s arm and guided him back down the alley. Hutch didn’t say anything or make any move to step around the litter of the alley. Starsky continued to guide him around obstacles until they reached the car. He opened the passenger door and helped Hutch sit. He bent down and swung Hutch’s legs into the car. He fastened the seat belt and hurried around to the driver’s side. He slid in, started the car and backed out of the alley heading for the hospital. 

He kept talking to Hutch as he drove but still received no answer. Hutch continued to stare straight ahead, looking neither right nor left.

He parked in the ER lot and went around the car quickly to help Hutch out of the car. He saw his partner shiver, but Hutch didn’t say anything or do more than follow the pressure of Starky’s hand. 

“I need a doctor here!” His yell quickly brought several nurses running.

“What’s wrong?” A tall, older nurse asked, visually scanning Hutch for any obvious wounds.

“We were involved in a chase and he shot someone coming out of a warehouse with a gun in her hand. It was a young girl. He… hasn’t said anything since, or … I had to help him up and help him walk.” 

“Treatment room one.” The nurse pointed and Starsky took Hutch’s arm again to lead him to the room.

Staff came and left, blood was drawn, his vitals taken. Through it all, Hutch sat on the exam table and stared at nothing. And through it all Starsky was never more than six inches from his partner, talking in a low voice to him.

The doctor came in carrying a folder full of papers that he was looking through. “I’m Dr. Kelly.” He reached out to shake Starsky’s hand. “You’re his partner, Detective Starsky? Tell me, Detective, what happened today?”

Starsky stepped a couple steps away from where Hutch now lay on the exam table. He ran his fingers through his hair which was curlier than ever, thanks to the rain. He told the doctor what had happened. 

“When he saw it was a young girl, he shut down. I don’t know how else to explain it, Doc.”

“This is Friday, what else has happened this week?”

It took Starsky a few minutes to remember. “It’s been a bad week, Doc. We’ve been involved in three shootouts not counting today’s, a hostage situation, had an officer we know be killed in the line of duty, worked a couple of all night stakeouts the first of the week. Plus paperwork.”

“So your partner was pretty tired by today?”

“Hey! We were BOTH tired, but Hutch did his job!” Starsky stepped toward the Doctor, daring him to say Hutch was impaired.

“Easy, Detective… easy! I’m only trying to get as much information as I can.”

Starsky backed off to stand by the exam table again. “Sorry. I’m worried.”

“I’m sure you are. I want to call a colleague of mine. I’ll be right back.” 

“Hey Hutch, the Doctor’s gonna be right back. Hang in there, buddy. We’ll figure this out.” He reached out and put his hand over Hutch’s where it rested by his side.

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 

“Hysterical stress what?!”

“In layman’s terms, your partner did ‘shut down’. The stress of the week and then the shooting of a young person proved too much for his psyche to take. So he’s retreated into himself, to keep from hurting.”

“So, how do I … we get him ‘back’ from wherever he want?”

“If he were shot, or hit over the head, the treatment would be pretty straight forward. With cases like this, it’s not quite so easy Detective. It’s going to take a therapist to talk to him. Try to get him to re-connect with reality.”

“So, get one in here and let’s get this show on the road!”

“This may take some time. Mr. Hutchinson…”

Starsky cut him off, “It’s DETECTIVE Hutchinson!”

“Yes, sorry. Detective Hutchinson needs to be in a safe, stable, non-threatening environment, where, hopefully he can be brought back from wherever he retreated to.”

“You talking about putting him in some kind of asylum?”

“No, I am talking about admitting him to a residential type facility where he can rest in a non-stressful environment and receive the therapy he needs. There is one on the beach very near here where several patients have recovered in a short period of time. I would like to keep him in the hospital a couple of days while arrangements are made. Does your partner have good insurance?”

“Police insurance. Is this place… what does it cost, Doctor?”

“Well, it is a privately run facility, and some insurances won’t pay for it. Does he have anyone else who might be able to cover the cost?”

“You make the arrangements, Doctor and I’ll come up with the money.”

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Starsky stayed with Hutch until he was settled in a room and sleeping following a shot the doctor gave him. Then he headed to the nurses station to make some calls. 

He updated Captain Dobey on Hutch then called Hutch’s parents. He explained what had happened and what the doctors wanted to do. At first, his partner’s parents wanted to fly him back to Minnesota. But Starsky explained that the doctors felt it was important to keep things as familiar as possible for him. After giving them the name and phone number of the facility they said they would do some checking and for Starsky to call them back in an hour. 

When Starsky called them back they reluctantly agreed that the facility in Bay City looked like it would be the best place for Hutch. They asked him to keep them informed of Hutch’s progress and if there was anything Hutch needed. Starsky thanked them and assured them he would keep in touch. 

Two days later Starsky arrived to take Hutch to the ‘rehab’ facility. The doctors had wanted to transport him by ambulance, but Starsky convinced them it would be less traumatic if he took him. 

When he pulled up to the front doors of the facility a nurse came out pushing a wheelchair. Starsky went around and assisted Hutch out of the car. Starsky tried to talk about how beautiful the facility was, and right on the beach, but Hutch’s eyes remained vacant and he didn’t reply in any way. He helped settle him in the wheelchair and began to push him down the hallway to his room.

“Wait till you see the room your folks picked out for you, buddy! You have a great view of the ocean. I went by your apartment and brought over some of your clothes and things. Oh, and I brought your guitar. Just in case you feel like playin’ it sometimes. Well, here we are, babe, your home away from home for now.” Starsky pushed him into the room.

A hospital bed was disguised under a blue comforter. Large windows framed with light blue curtains provided an unobstructed view of the beach and the ocean beyond it. There was a television and radio along one wall. A large reclining chair faced the windows. For all the opulence of the room, Hutch didn’t appear to notice anything about it. “Hey, buddy! Isn’t this great? Better than any motel we ever stayed in, huh?” There was no response from his partner.

“Give him some time, Detective. Dr. Dale will evaluate him tomorrow and start working to heal whatever broke in his mind. Keep up the faith.” The nurse helped Hutch into the recliner, and settled a light blanket over his legs. Hutch closed his eyes and shortly thereafter, fell asleep. 

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  
A week later, Dave walked into the facility. Nothing had changed yet, and he was finding it hard to hold onto hope.

“Hi, Dave. He’s out by the beach.”

“Thanks, Cindy! I’ll head on out and talk to him.”

Starsky walked out the double doors facing the ocean and spotted Hutch immediately. He walked over, pulled a chair up beside his partner and sat down.   
“Hey buddy. How ya’ doing today?” He reached out and patted Hutch’s hand. He looked at Hutch, then out to the ocean. He took a deep breath of the clean salty air. 

“Man, beautiful day. They say a storm will be moving in tonight some time. Gonna be some rough surf.”

He continued to look out at the ocean, only casting Hutch an occasional glance. 

“Dobey and Huggy told me to tell ya’ hello and they’re planning to come see ya’ this weekend. Edith’s got Dobey on another diet! You should see him sneaking food into his office!” Starsky laughed. “The cafeteria ladies told him they were gonna rat him out to Edith. She sends her love too.”

He felt a cool breeze come off the ocean and glanced at Hutch. “You warm enough, buddy? Shoot… of course you are. Remember that stakeout when you were rolling down the windows, saying you were cooking, and I was shivering? You and your hot-blood! Man, sleeping with you was like lying next to a lava flow! I never needed any blankets, just had to cuddle up with you!

“I talked to your folks yesterday. They talked about having you go back to Minnesota again. I talked them out of it…again. I told them how great you were doing and reminded them of what the doctors said. They agreed you should stay here, close to me and close to the ocean.” 

Starsky had to look away from Hutch for a second. Once he got his emotions back under control, he looked back. He reached out and put his hand on Hutch’s arm. ‘I told them I appreciated them letting you stay here. And them payin’ for it. I offered to sell the Torino and use the money for this place, but they said ‘no’. They’re really not as cold as they used to be to me.” 

“Speaking of ‘cold’, that breeze is getting cooler. I can see some clouds building over the ocean. I better get you back inside.”

Starsky stood up and moved behind the big leather chair Hutch sat in. It was the latest kind of w/c. Comfortable and able to recline or move into a lot of ways so Hutch could have his position changed with just the squeeze of different levers. 

He pushed Hutch back up the sidewalk and into the building. Pushing him down the hall to his room, he nodded at various staff. They got to his room and he moved the chair and Hutch over by the big window so he could continue to look out at the ocean. 

“I… uh, I gotta go now, Hutch. Have some files, cold cases, I gotta go over. Dobey wants ‘em by tomorrow. 

“I know you’re in there, Hutch. I won’t ever give up on you. Never. I’ll be here when you’re ready to come back. No matter how long it takes. 

“I miss you, buddy. Other than Ma, you’re the most important person in my life. So you need to remember that. And you need to remember that what happened to that little girl wasn’t your fault. Not. Your. Fault. 

“I know you, I know what you’re feeling. And thinking. None of us knew she was in that alley we chased those guys into. If I had been just a second faster, it would have been MY bullet that hit her. It was an accident, buddy. Just a horrible accident. She’d been living on the streets for over a year. She was using and selling her body to pay for her habit. The coroner said she had near fatal levels of drugs in her system. And she had a gun in her hand. It was loaded. If you hadn’t shot her, she might have shot you or me or both of us.”

“I know none of that changes the fact that she was only 15...” Starsky had to stop. He wiped his hand over his face. “Hutch, it wasn’t your fault. I shot at her too when she stepped out of that warehouse door. I was just a couple of seconds slower than you. It could have been because of ME that she died. 

“God, Hutch, I wish I knew what to say to you.” He looked away from Hutch and wiped at his wet eyes. “All I can say is, I love you. I miss you. I… need you, Hutch. I’m not any good without you. That’s why Dobey’s got me working those cold case files. I – I – miss you in a lot of other ways too, lover. I’m still sleeping on the couch. Can’t face sleeping in that big empty bed without you. So, you need to come back. Back to life. Back to me.” Starsky bent down and kissed Hutch’s lips. He leaned his forehead against Hutch’s. “I KNOW you’re in there, Hutch. Hiding. But you need to come back. I… I have to have you back. I’m not sure how much longer I can go on without you… Please, lover, come back to me.” 

Starsky kissed Hutch again, hugged him and patted his arm. He wiped the tears from his eyes. “Sorry, Hutch. I know I haven’t cried in front of you when I’ve been here, it’s just too hard sometimes. I need you to come back and help me. I never knew just how much I needed you. But I do… need you. Please… just try… really, really hard…to come back to me. I love you, Hutch… nothing will ever change that. I love you.”

Starsky caressed Hutch’s cheek one last time and headed for the door. His shoulders slumped and he stopped to lean against the door frame for just a second. 

He whispered, “Come back to me, love. I need you…” He straightened his shoulders and walked out the door. 

Hutch sat in his big, comfortable wheel chair, facing the ocean and the storm brewing over it. There was a storm brewing in him too. If only he could release it. 

No one saw him slowly turn his head, looking toward the door where Starsky had just stood.

No one saw his trembling hand reach out toward where his lover had been. 

No one saw the lone tear slip from his blue eye and run down his cheek.

There was a distant flash of lightning, followed by thunder. Hutch’s body shook, involuntarily.

“S-S-Starsk... “ The storm rolling in and thinking of his partner brought that horrible day back to mind. His hand trembled then dropped back into his lap. He turned his face back to the window. The blue eyes slowly drained of light as he stared sightlessly at the storm rolling in over the ocean.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ringing of the telephone woke Starsky. As he reached for it, he heard heavy thunder shaking the windows in his bedroom. A bright flash of lightning filled the room, followed by more thunder. 

“Hello?”

“Detective Starsky?”

“Yeah, this is Starsky? Who’s this?” He tried to read the time on his clock, and saw it was 3:00 AM when the lightning flashed again. Never a good time to get a phone call. Then reality hit. “Hutch! Is this about Hutch? Is he ok?”

“Yes, Mr Starsky. This is Nurse Blair. The storm seems to have... upset him. He was thrashing around in his bed. When we tried to calm him down, he started yelling your name… and crying. Is there any…”

Starsky cut her off. “I’ll be right there!” He hung up the phone and grabbed the clothes off the floor that he had stripped off when he got home. Within ten minutes he was running through the rain and getting into the Torino. “Hutch, hold on. I’m on my way!”

He drove as fast as he could but was hampered by the heavy rain. The streets were slick with water and the wipers barely cleared the rain enough for him to see. It seemed to take forever to drive the six miles to the rehabilitation facility.

He parked and ran through the rain to the front entrance and rang the bell there for admittance. As soon as the door opened, he could hear Hutch screaming. He ran down the hall and slammed the door to his room open.

He stopped dead as he saw Hutch thrashing in the bed. His ankles and wrists were tied to the bed. A thick leather belt was wrapped around his waist and secured to the bed frame. A nurse he had never seen before was standing beside the bed with a hypodermic needle in her hand, trying to hold Hutch’s arm still enough to inject him with whatever was in the syringe.

“STOP!” His yell startled the nurse and she stepped away from the bed. “WHAT are you doing?! Why is he tied down?!” Starsky quickly moved to Hutch’s side. He put a hand on his arm, just above the restraint. “Shhhh, Hutch, I’m here. It’s gonna be ok buddy. Hush, Hutch. It’s me, Starsk. I’m here.

Hutch stopped yelling, but still pulled at the restraints holding him down. Starsky saw Hutch’s wrists were chafed red and bleeding in spots from where he had pulled against the restraints. “Why the hell is he tied down!? Who ordered this?”

The nurse capped the syringe and put it down on the table by the bed. Starsky was sure he had never seen her before.

“I’m Nurse Bradshaw, and his screaming was disturbing other clients. I was going to give him a sedative to settle him down. Doctor Iverson frequently orders them.”

“Well, Doctor Iverson is NOT Hutch’s doctor, so I suggest you take that shit out of here before I give it to YOU!”

The nurse picked up the syringe and left the room muttering about rude young men.

Starsky looked around and saw a young nurse standing near the door. “Nurse Blair?”

“Yes sir. I called you because I didn’t agree with what she was going to do. He was talking for the first time since he came here. I didn’t think it was right to sedate him.” 

“Thank you, Miss Blair.” Starsky released the belt around Hutch’s middle. Then he released Hutch’s right ankle and hand from the restraints and slid onto the edge of the bed, scooting as close to Hutch as he could. He could still feel tremors shaking his partner’s body. And he heard him whimper. 

“Hutch. I’m here. I’m here, babe. Shhh. Easy. I got you.” He slid his left arm under Hutch’s shoulders and pulled him tighter to his side.

“Nurse Blair, can you release his other hand and ankle for me? Then get something to clean the cuts on his wrists. Maybe something to dress them? Oh, and some juice?” 

“Sure, Mr. Starsky.”

“Call me Dave. And thank you again for calling me. You did the right thing.” He watched as she released Hutch’s left ankle and wrist. She unhooked the belt from the other side of the bed and pulled it totally off the bed. Starsky put his hand in the center of Hutch‘s chest and rubbed small circles there. He reached up to cup Hutch’s cheek and turned his face toward him.

“I’ll be right back with everything, Mr… Dave.” 

Hutch’s eyes were wide and wild. Frantic. Starsky didn’t think Hutch really saw him, but he didn’t turn his face away. “I’m here, Hutch. I’m here and you’re safe. I got ya. It’s gonna be okay. I promise.” He kept talking, low and steady to his partner. He watched as the frantic look slowly left Hutch’s eyes.

Nurse Blair came back in and began to gently clean and dress the cuts on Hutch’s wrists. She didn’t try to interfere with what Starsky was doing. When she had both wrists bandaged, she stepped back. “I’ll leave the juice here on the table. I brought in a straw, thought it might work better with him being in bed. Will you need anything else, Dave?”

He never took his eyes off Hutch’s face. “No, Miss Blair. Thank you. I am going to talk to the people in charge here and make sure they know what a jewel they have in you!” 

“I was doing what I thought was right…Dave.”

“And I am going to make sure they know that you may have saved my partner’s life tonight.” He looked at her, quickly and smiled. “I’ll call if I need anything else. For now, I just need to alone with him.”

“I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed. I have a call in to Doctor Dale, to let him know what’s happened.” She left and closed the door behind her. 

Starsky kept stroking Hutch’s chest and arms, talking low to him. He noticed Hutch jumped every time lightning flashed or the thunder crashed. 

“Hey, Hutch? Is it the storm?” He thought back to the day of the shooting. It had been storming loudly then too. “Are you remembering, babe? Is that it? It’s ok to remember. Doctor Dale said it would help you to remember and talk about what happened. Talk to me, Hutch. Talk to me. Nothing you say will change my feelings for you. I promise. I love you. Nothing will change that. Ever. C’mon, babe. Talk to me.”

“S-S-Starsk?”

“Yeah, Hutch. It’s me.” Starsky felt tears start running down his face. “I’m here. I got ya and ‘m never letting ya go.” 

Starsky watched as Hutch’s eyes cleared and he focused on Starsky’s face for the first time since the day of the shooting.

“Starsk?” 

Suddenly Hutch had a death grip on Starsky, and was sobbing. Starsky tightened his hold on him and ran his hands up and down his back. He pulled Hutch’s head under his chin, touched when Hutch burrowed his face against his neck. “That’s it. Let it out, babe. You’re safe. You’re where you need to be. I got ya. I got ya.”

When Hutch’s sobs slowed down, Starsky reached over to the table and grabbed the glass of orange juice. “Here babe, try to take a few sips of juice.” He held the straw to Hutch’s lips. He was pleased when Hutch took several long swallows. He sat the glass back on the table and pulled Hutch back where he had been.

“Starsk? Where… what happened? Where am I?”

Starsky slowly and quietly explained what had happened to Hutch. The shooting, his withdrawal, and his therapy here at the facility. “You’ve been … hiding inside yourself for a week. I was beginning to think you weren’t going to come back to me. To us.”

The storm continued outside the room but Hutch no longer jumped with the flashes of lightning or rumbles of thunder. He laid quietly, half on top of his partner. After a particularly loud boom of thunder, he moved his head down on Starsk’s chest, pressing his ear above his lover’s heart. Hearing only that comforting beat. 

Starsky bit his lower lip and tilted his head back, closing his eyes, offering thanks to God for bringing Hutch back to him. Tears still fell down his cheeks, but he didn’t care. Having his partner and lover back was more important. 

“S-s-starsk?” Hutch lifted his head from the pillow of Starsky’s chest. “I want to go home.”

“As soon as doc checks you out, we are outta here. I promise.”

Hutch raised his head and Starsky lowered his. Their lips met and fused, the kiss deeper than any they had ever shared. As they continued to kiss, the storm abated, having lost all power over the blond detective, it moved off to the east, searching for a new home. 

And at 3:46 in the morning, the sun was shining, blindingly, in room two.


End file.
